It isn't particularly difficult to harden that drill bit. Run it under a torch until its glowing brightly and quickly dunk it in oil, making sure to swirl it around to avoid bubbles and uneven cooling. Now its hardened. but it will be too hard (brittle). Heat it again but this time slowly. Just until you see it start to get a gold color to it and then stop and let it cool naturally. Now its hardness range is good for a punch.

Quite often the bottom of drill bits have not been hardened so your chuck can grab them - ever tried carbide in a drill chuck!! Great project. God bless

G’day Adrian, productive time spent in “the shed”. I was thinking a valve stem could be a possibility? Avoid the sodium filled variety. At 3.50 there is a metal lubrication pot that looks interesting, what stories it could tell? 🏍🇦🇺

Nice